[Spoiler] eSTRO vs WeMade Winners' Interviews

eSTRO's SangHo, who performed poorly since the start of Round 4 with a record of 2-5, defeated WeMade FOX's Mind in the match held on the 11th of May and returned to his former strong self. He went for a proxy robotics build and dealt a lot of damage with reaver and dragoon drops, sealing his 19th win of the season. With this, he ended his 2-game losing streak, and is now on a 2-game winning streak against Mind.

The following is the interview with Sangho.

- Your thoughts on your win?
▲ For me, playing against Mind is always special. I once lost a very important live match, so I wanted to win badly. And because I defeated Mind, I am even more happy.

- You went for a very strategic play.
▲ I play many games where I go for economic advantage early game, so that has somewhat become my style in the eyes of others. So this time, I tried playing differently and it worked well. All strategies must be prepared. Even my first manner pylon was a part of my plan.

- You are now on a 2-game winning streak against Mind.
▲ I practice with Mind once in a while, and every time I play against him, his play is very solid and there is no weakness in his play. I think the nickname "Viper" suits him well. He is one of the Terran players whom I recognize as a very good player.

- Your shuttle micro was outstanding.
▲ I once tried this strategy but my shuttle-reaver micro was bad so I lost. I think it was the match against CuteAngeL on Colosseum II. My key card was my reaver, so I focused on controlling it well, and I practiced a lot. That's how my micro became good over time.

- You destroyed his command center at the expo with 3 dragoons.
▲ A lot of weird stuff happen that doesn't happen during my practice with him. In Round 2 when I played against him, his supply depot wall was broken, and today, with 3 dragoons, his command center at his nat was destroyed. It's amazing.

- You slumped heavily after the start of Round 4.
▲ Actually I started deteriorating from Winner's League. I think it's my lack of skill. It doesn't matter how I won the first time, because as time passes by, skill becomes more and more important. That is why I am focusing my practice on improving my skills. I know my weaknesses well, so although things may not be working out well now, I believe my games will improve as time goes on.

- Any final words?
▲ If I were to think back about my results in Round 1 and 2, I have gotten too many losses. I am reflecting heavily on it. I want to put on a good performance for the rest of my remaining matches, and I want to end the season off with way more wins than losses.

eSTRO's 'Maestro of Tactics' UpMaGiC defended well against WeMade FOX's Pure, who sent out 2 probes early in the game and built 2 proxy gateways in Upmagic's main. However, after discovering the proxy gateways, Upmagic defended well through great building placements and calm micro.

The following is the interview with Upmagic.

- Your thoughts on yoru win.
▲ I got a free win so easily, so I feel very glad. I had anticipated such a tactic so I was able to defend it well.

- Did you practice for Pure's tactic?
▲ I did not face such a tactic during practice. However, I did think of builds before going to sleep, and this was one of the builds I had thought of. I anticipated that it will not work well at the 9 o'clock base, and as expected, I saw the gateway.

- How did you defend so well if you didn't face this during practice?
▲ As long as I was alert, I could manage the situation well. You gain leeway and are able to defend well against it even if you don't face this during practice.

- What was your reason for not destroying the gateway early on and choosing to build a bunker instead?
▲ If even a single zealot spawns I'll be giving him a chance (for him to win). If I just build a bunker, I can safely defend against it, and I was looking further ahead into the game.

- You lost twice on Battle Royal.
▲ It is really very tough. I practiced very hard to get sent out twice, and even then, my winning rate during practice was about 20~30%. I always started off at a disadvantage, and many of my wins were through making comebacks. Simply put, Battle Royal is a Zerg map. It is so extreme that even I can't do anything. But there will definitely be players who want to challenge this map.

- Do you want to continue challenging this map?
▲ I too want to win even once. I keep on practicing, but I will have to be alert early game (if I play).

- You lost twice on the same day in your previous game against Hite.
▲ I was thrice recently, and two of those losses occurred on Battle Royal. I once lost twice on the same day but my games have been turning out well recently so I am not worried. My recent games have been the best since my debut.

- Any final words?
▲ Our team seems to be picking up the pace once again, so I feel really glad. Around 2 months ago, someone made a lot of prank calls to me so I changed my cellphone number. But now those prank calls are occurring once again. They've also been calling my coach and making false statements to my family, and they also make false statements to people I know through calling me. I think it is just one person acting alone, and I hope he stops doing that.

eSTRO's Really, who has been sent out the most, showed strong bionic play and defeated WeMade FOX's Shine[kaL], wrapping up the game.

He defended well against Shine[Kal]'s muta harassment to fast ultralisk strategy and took the game. He made good use of irradiate, got hold of the center of the map and boasting great macro, took his 26th win of the season.

The following is the interview with Really.

- Your thoughts on your win?
▲ The map was difficult to play on even from the start of practice. It seems to be a Zerg-favored map. It is hard to win if you play standard bionic on this map, so I pondered a lot. But I gained confidence, played standard and won, so I feel happy.

- It has been said that God's Garden is a Zerg-favored map.
▲ In my eyes, it is a very Zerg-favored map. There is a backyard gas expansion, and as the game drags longer, it gets harder to get an additional expansion at the starting points. It is hard to win against Zergs on that map if one plays standard.

- What was your reason for playing standard?
▲ I thought of many strategies but Zergs recently react so well to strategic plays that I wondered if I should play a strategic game. However, my coaches told me to play standard, and helped me regain confidence..

- Were you satisified with your game?
▲ I am. I barely received any damage from the guardians, and although I lost quite a lot of science vessels, I fought well against his ultralisks and zerglings, so I am satisfied.

- You overpowered your opponent as the game progressed into late game.
▲ I think that I was usually a player who plays well if I don't receive any damage early game. That is why if games get into late game I start overflowing with confidence. Against all races, if I receive any damage early game I ended up losing, so I am working hard to cover up this weakness.

- Are you receiving special training in bionic play?
▲ No, I don't. It is just that I have good macro so as long as the unit balances are right, I am confident that I will end up as the winner. My micro is just average.

- What helped you to take the game?
▲ Many players went mutalisks to fast hive to fast ultralisks. That is why after defending against his mutalisks, I worked hard to not give him additional expansions. Working hard not to give him 4 gas paid off.

- There was a recent period were you slumped bad.
▲ There was once I was even afraid of playing on stage. I kept thinking that people will make fun of me after I lost. If my teammates and fans make fun of me, I don't feel bad. But recently, Samsung Khan's by.great has been making fun of me. Somehow, it hurt my ego (laughs). If I face by.great next time, I will definitely win.

- Any final words?
▲ My coaches gave me confidence that if I played standard I will definitely win. I want to thank everyone who helped me with practice. I hope I can face by.great in Round 5.